An undercover operation by the Edmonton Police has helped them conclude that drug dealers have been looking for business in and around the city’s LRT stations.
“Operation Derailment” led to 135 criminal charges, the majority of them were drug trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime.
READ MORE: ETS passenger calls for more security on LRT
The undercover operation with the Edmonton Police Service LRT Beat Team started in November 2016 and wrapped up in January, resulting in 40 people being charged – each with numerous offences.
Police seized crack cocaine and close to 18 grams of methamphetamine. They also seized buprenorphine pills.
“We know where there’s street level drug trafficking, there’s violence and property crimes often committed by drug users looking to support their habit,” Sgt. Jacob Montgomery said.
Montgomery called “Operation Derailment” the first of its kind targeting street-level drug traffickers.
Police say the LRT is a prime spot for these types of drug sales.
“It’s a public location, so there’s a lot of people waiting for busses and trains and it’s easy for people to blend in,” Montgomery explained.
That’s something that doesn’t sit well with Louisa Agapiou.
“It does make me a little uneasy to know that there could be drugs in my vicinity, as well as dangerous people.”
Most of the people charged were men in their 20s, but a 16-year old was also arrested, along with five women.
“The majority of the accused had extensive criminal records for crimes such as robbery, break and enter, weapons offences and violence,” Montgomery said.
Word of the arrests surprised regular LRT rider Blessing Chukwuanu. “That’s wrong. It’s not safe. There’s kids everywhere and it’s not a good environment for them to see stuff like that.”
“It’s a big shock. I’ve never seen anyone sell stuff,” she said.
The EPS LRT Beat Team conducted a number of investigations with the help of Edmonton Transit and ALERT’s Drug Undercover Street Team.
“I want them to tell their friends. I want them to share that so they’re much more concerned about conducting that activity on the LRT system so it doesn’t happen,” said Montgomery. “Because we will catch them.”
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